IRVINE : City Will Regulate 3-Foot Cable Boxes

The city plans to regulate the hundreds of 3-foot-tall metal boxes that Dimension Cable has been installing on grassy public easements throughout Irvine.

The City Council recently directed officials to inspect the boxes for safety and asked Dimension Cable to place identification labels on each box so that residents know who owns them.

The council also asked officials to develop safety and aesthetic standards that will regulate the future placement of such devices.

The action comes in response to numerous complaints by residents who said the boxes are ugly and degrade the look of the community. In many cases, the green-colored devices were placed without warning on front lawns and other city-owned open spaces.

Some residents also have raised safety concerns about the boxes, saying children could fall while climbing on them and that drivers might accidentally run over them when backing out of driveways.

Dimension Cable started installing the boxes last year as part of an effort to upgrade the quality of cable service in the city. The new technology will provide residents with more channels and clearer reception, said Mark Stucky, general manager of Dimension Cable.

Stucky did not object to the proposed regulations.

The boxes contain sensitive electronic equipment that cannot be placed underground because moisture could damage the fiber-optic cables, they added.

Council members expressed sympathy for residents but said there was little the city could do because Irvine’s franchise agreement with Dimension allows the company to use easements for providing cable service.

But public outcry did prompt the council late last year to ask the city’s Ad Hoc Cable Committee to look into the issue. The committee held two public hearings and two weeks ago released a report.

The council reviewed the report in late February and adopted several of the committee’s recommendations, including:

* The city inspection of all cable boxes to make sure the electrical equipment does not pose a hazard to residents.

* The establishment of specific standards for aboveground boxes that would take into account aesthetic and visual issues.

* The labeling by Dimension of all cable boxes with identification tags that include a telephone number residents can call with questions and concerns.

The council rejected a proposal that would have given residents a two-month period to make formal complaints about boxes near their homes.

Instead, officials said residents should direct any concerns they have about the devices to Dimension Cable, which is owned by Times Mirror Inc., the parent company of the Los Angeles Times. In some cases, Dimension has agreed to move the boxes away from homes.